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Capitalism Essay

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Within the boundaries in which sale and purchase of commodities and labor-power goes on is the birthplace of the “innate rights of man” (343). For the fulfillment of their needs, humans rely on the help of others. As Marx says in The German Ideology, “there exists a materialistic connection of men with one another, which is determined by their needs and their mode of production” (157). In modern capitalism people are connected through a complex global system of trade. This system of production and consumption affects the way people view each other in general. When one participates in the giant domain of production and consumption which generates generic products for generic individuals, she recognizes herself …show more content…

While politics and world trade have provided people with a sense of their universality, they are also highly individualistic modes of organization. People are not necessarily connected to their origin; the individual is supposedly able to live any lifestyle if he works hard enough. The rights that people are given in this economy are directed towards independent individuals. Every man is for himself – to survive in the world one must work hard to support one’s self.
Capitalism is a system of the exchange of goods based on their relative expenditure of human labor. All of human life seems spent either working to produce goods for others to buy or buying goods from others in order to meet personal wants. Exchange is truly the root of why human rights as they are known were constructed. People must be assured that they will be treated fairly when they come to sell their goods or labor. Political rights exist only when one is a member of an exchanging community. If a family lived in the woods and grew crops it is unlikely that they would proclaim equal rights as independents. They would always work together and have their needs met. Under capitalism people have needs of which they do not have the resources to meet. They must rely on

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